Anyone else here generally dislike the automotive/home theater audio "scene" and the people involved with it? I have been using optical spidf for a few years now with my computer. I have yet to hear anything from someones analog car or home theater that even comes close to what my computer produces.

Why don't people just but a mini-itx board and an xfi card in their trunk? I don't understand this whole amp business and $900/ft "pearl" cables. I know a few people who put thousands of dollars of equipment in their cars and all I can hear is muddy bass and some horrendous rattling from whatever happens to be around the equipment.

And what is up with 5.1 "surround sound"? That crap is old. There are 16+ channel all-digital audio cards floating around for $200. Have you guys ever gone to circuit city and looked at what they charge for stereo (2 channel) equalizer boxes? It's insane. Not as insane as $150 monster cables that don't even adhere to hmdi specifications, but pretty damn close.

Some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen people do in my entire life is to walk into best buy and ask where the car stereos are. Or where the bose section is, that crap is just as bad.

Anyone else here generally dislike the automotive/home theater audio "scene" and the people involved with it? I have been using optical spidf for a few years now with my computer. I have yet to hear anything from someones analog car or home theater that even comes close to what my computer produces.

Why don't people just but a mini-itx board and an xfi card in their trunk? I don't understand this whole amp business and $900/ft "pearl" cables. I know a few people who put thousands of dollars of equipment in their cars and all I can hear is muddy bass and some horrendous rattling from whatever happens to be around the equipment.

And what is up with 5.1 "surround sound"? That crap is old. There are 16+ channel all-digital audio cards floating around for $200. Have you guys ever gone to circuit city and looked at what they charge for stereo (2 channel) equalizer boxes? It's insane. Not as insane as $150 monster cables that don't even adhere to hmdi specifications, but pretty damn close.

Some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen people do in my entire life is to walk into best buy and ask where the car stereos are. Or where the bose section is, that crap is just as bad.

Wow I feel so much better now that I have gotten that off my chest

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when it comes to car audio - 95% of all the "systems" you'll hear out there are crap . . .

the speakers, amps, EQs, cabling, and all the other "goodies" people have installed are not properly matched to each other. Also, the people doing the installing are generally minimum-wage morons that don't know how to gain access to the vehicles wiring diagrams to avoid splicing into CRITICAL system wires (like a damn Air Bag driver feed circuit :shadedshu).

I still stoutly believe that if you want the best in-car audio possible, all your components need to be from the same brand. Pioneer doesn't engineer their head units with SONY speakers in mind, and SONY doesn't engineer their speakers with JVC head units in mind, either.

Then there's the task of selecting speakers that will best suit what the head unit is capable of, and will be suit each vehicles unique interior audio profile. The curves and shapes of the car itself, as well as where factory speakers are placed, can have a major impact over how muddy speaker output is, or how clear it will be.

In regards to cabling, that insane 6 ga. Monster cable is worthless and overpriced. You can wire up nice and clean with standard 14 ga at the smallest, or 16-18 ga. Shielded is preferable, considering how much EMI engine components put out.

There's really no need for digital or optical as CDs are not encoded for that kind of quality, and if you're using MP3s or .wma recorded to a disk, you really don't need those kinds of interfaces, either.

Either way, car audio is nothing but a high-dollar market because the majority of consumers don't know squat about the equipment. It's easy to make a sale because someone walks in to a shop and says "I want bass!" and is willing to pay for whatever the person behind the counter can dream up.

I've spent a total of $600 on my car's components (granted I can get them cheaper than most other people can), and installed everything myself. She'll blow $5000 setups clear out of the water, and still be crystal clear enough that you can hear every guitar chord and cymbal hit.

@Imperial- Man, you really need to consider becoming a novelist, you definately have the writing skills. Your posts are like novels.

(I mean that in a good way.)

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thanks for the compliment. I used to write a lot, and my teachers back in HS were always impressed with my skill . . . I've even considered putting together a portfolio of some of my work to see if I might be able to get it published.

uh see i'm building a REAL carputer with a recapped and modded Auzentech X-Meridian running gentoo. It'll kick the crap out of that any day and I won't be running DAC ;-). Oh and just to let you all know Treo subs kick the f*ck out of Almost anything I've heard. Get a 12" SSi in a sealed ox, so versatile, accurate, and just plain sound great!!! Plus home theatre speakers just sounds great in a three way system too.